درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This mixed-methods study was an attempt to ascertain if experienced EFL teachers’ classroom management is related to their burnout and organizational commitment. It was also intended to unveil their perceptions and attitudes regarding the sources of their burnout and organizational commitment. For this purpose, 50 male and female experienced teachers were chosen from three English institutes in Tehran and were asked to fill up the three questionnaires: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Organizational Commitment Scale, and Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control (ABCC) Inventory. They were further interviewed and observed in their actual classes. According to the obtained findings and results, the perceived classroom management of teachers did not significantly correlate with their actual management practice. Furthermore, there was a negative but statistically non-significant correlation between EFL teachers’ organizational commitment and classroom management. The correlation between teachers’ burnout and classroom management turned out to be positive but statistically non-significant as well. Considering the point that the correlations between the variables were non-significant, the predictability analyses were not conducted as the results would logically be non-significant too. Conducting the interviews, the majority of the teachers strongly believed that low commitment and burnout have nothing to do with their performance in classroom since there is something beyond the obligation to the organization, which is responsibility to learners, and no other external factors could interfere.

This paper aims to investigate the light verb constructions (LVCs) formed with the light verb dādan ‘to give’ in Persian by employing the principles of cognitive lexical semantics. It examines the semantic relationships between the heavy verb dādan and its uses as LVCs. The analysis of attested examples reveals that the use of dādan as a light verb (LV) is a function of the semantic structure of its simple verb counterpart. This suggests that its lightness status is highly systematic and can be explained in terms of cognitively driven motivations. In addition, a significant number of the LVCs express certain causation meanings, suggesting that Persian speakers tend to use the LV dādan to convey causative notions as newly emerged LVCs. This stance will constitute our line of argument to analyze the data in this study. By presenting a cognitive configuration of LVCs in Persian, the current paper can pave the way for a fine-grained theorization of typological aspects of LVCs in some other languages.

Assessing learners’ writing is one of the primary responsibilities of English language teachers. Nevertheless, research on teachers’ writing assessment literacy (WAL) is scarce. To this end, this study a) explored Iraqi Kurdish EFL teachers’ writing assessment knowledge, beliefs, and practices and b) examined assessment strategies they employ to assess learners’ writing ability and the feedback they provide on learners’ writing performance. Data were collected from language teachers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (N=80), who taught at universities, institutes, and schools, utilizing a modified version of the WAL questionnaire consisting of five sections, including teachers’ demographic information, assessment strategies, knowledge of WAL, beliefs about WAL, and practices concerning WAL. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of volunteer teachers (N=10). The findings highlighted teachers’ insufficient knowledge of writing assessments. A significant mismatch was found between teachers’ stated beliefs and their practices in the use of formative and summative assessment. The teachers had positive beliefs toward formative assessment; however, they preferred using summative assessment. The qualitative findings further pointed to a significant knowledge gap among teachers regarding specific terminologies, such as formative and summative assessment, as well as scoring rubrics. Finally, the results indicated that teachers used various feedback types to improve learners’ writing skills. The findings emphasize the need to improve teachers’ writing assessment literacy in order to bridge the gap between teachers’ beliefs and their practices of writing assessment.  

The current research aims to investigate the effect of teacher support (TS) on EFL learners' academic achievement, self-esteem, resilience, and academic enjoyment (AE). Eighty-four EFL students from a Turkish context participated in the study and were randomly divided into a control (N=48) and an experimental group (N=46). The standardized instruments, including the academic achievement test, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, Davidson's Academic Enjoyment Scale, and Cassidy's Academic Resilience Scale, were utilized to collect data. The impact was measured by administering pretests and posttests and employing a quantitative research methodology with a pretest/posttest design for the research. The results demonstrated significant effects of TS on all variables in question. The experimental group (EG) demonstrated significant improvements in self-esteem, resilience, and AE, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. Additionally, the experimental group (EG) significantly outperformed the control group (CG) in academic achievement. These findings emphasize the importance of TS in improving EFL learners' academic and psychological qualifications and underpin a dire necessity of cultivating supportive and stimulating learning environments that prioritize autonomy, structure, and engagement. Implementing effective instructional practices may improve students' academic achievement and emotional welfare. The study's implications provide an understanding of integrating positive teacher-student interaction and support for positive psychology in the foreign language curriculum design and materials development.

There is research paucity concerning EFL learners’ self-formation, taking the role of IELTS writing skills into account. With a view to this, the present study aimed to see what a model of possible self-construction before and after training on IELTS writing skills emerges and what the psychometric properties of the emerged model are. To this end, a grounded theory approach was used. Of the IELTS candidates taking part in five IELTS preparation centers in Kerman, 90 (55 males and 35 females) candidates were selected as the participants of the present study through cluster sampling. A semi-structured interview was used to identify the possible selfof the participants. Coding procedures (i.e., open, axial, and selective coding) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. According to the results, a model of possible selfconstruction before and after training on IELTS writing skills emerged wherein before training on IELTS writing skills, feared possible selfwere more dominant than expected and responsible possible selves. Furthermore, after training on IELTS writing skills, expected and responsible possible selfwere constructed more dominantly than feared possible selves. Implications of the results for EFL curriculum planners, teachers, and learners have been discussed.

The advent of ChatGPT, an all-purpose intelligent Chabot created by Open AI, has created a multitude of prospects and opportunities within the realm of language education. Owing to its exceptional capacity to produce a wide range of textual outputs, ChatGPT responds to queries in a matter of seconds. The present study aimed to examine the appropriateness of ChatGPT-based instruction and flipped language learning instruction (FLLI) in classrooms in terms of enhancing EFL learners’ interactional metadiscourse realization across language proficiency levels. Sixty-three English language learners were divided into four distinct groups: 16 in the advanced and 16 in the intermediate FLLI group, 15 in the advanced, and 16 in the intermediate ChatGPT group. Before initiating the study, all participants were given a pretest that specifically assessed the use of interactional metadiscourse markers (IMMs) in argumentative writing. The four experimental groups were separately exposed to ChatGPT-based instruction and FLLI during eight sessions. Results from a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure through SPSS (version 25) revealed that the ChatGPT-based instruction was more effective than FLLI, and both intermediate and advanced language learners following the ChatGPT-based instruction used IMMs in argumentative writing more successfully. Moreover, the participants’ perceptions of ChatGPT and FLLI were analyzed through MAXQDA (version 2020), showing more positive attitudes towards using ChatGPT in language learning in general and IM realization in particular. The findings have the potential to provide advantages for teacher educators in terms of utilizing ChatGPT learning approaches.

Lexical bundles are recurrent multi-word sequences that play a crucial role in academic discourse. This article presents an analysis of lexical bundles in book reviews across the disciplines of human and natural sciences. Drawing from a corpus of 737 book reviews, the study investigates the functional roles and structural patterns of these recurrent linguistic units. The research aims to bridge a gap in the literature by exploring how lexical bundles vary across disciplines. Employing a quantitative-qualitative approach, the study first quantitatively identifies the most common 4-word lexical bundles and compares their distribution between the two disciplines. The researchers then qualitatively analyzed the context in which these bundles are used, observing that they often serve to refer to or evaluate the structure, content, audience, or scope of the book under review. Findings reveal that while both human and natural sciences book reviews share some lexical bundles, they exhibit variations in their distribution, structures, and functions. Notably, natural sciences book reviews employ a greater frequency of lexical bundles signaling an evaluative context, particularly contexts related to the assessment of a book. The study also uncovers differences in the structural preferences of lexical bundles between the two disciplines. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the genre-specific utilization of lexical bundles and underscores their role in conveying evaluative meaning in scholarly discourse. Furthermore, the study suggests avenues for further exploration, providing a foundation for future investigations into the intricate interplay between linguistic features and disciplinary preferences.

Highlighting the inseparable link between language, culture, and technology in English as a foreign language education, this qualitative exploratory study examined the impact of cultural and multicultural awareness on Iranian EFL teachers’ professional development within augmented virtual reality (AVR)-based and conventional teacher education programs. Thus, 28 EFL teachers participated in semi-structured interviews and reflective inquiries following eight-week training courses. Data analysis was done manually via qualitative thematic analysis and by MAXQDA according to Guskey’s (2002) professional development model. Consequently, seven themes for the conventional group (maintaining a culturally responsive environment, enhanced teachers’ behavior, curriculum improvement, creative ideas, enhanced skills, efficient communication, and preparing students for effective communication) and five themes for the AVR group (experiencing authentic material and environment, accessibility features, less interactivity in the classroom, teachers’ passion and confidence improvement, and less cultural boundaries) were extracted. The study highlighted the crucial role of cultural and multicultural immersion and adaptive teaching strategies in creating culturally responsive environments. This approach equipped EFL instructors to address diverse student needs and foster inclusive learning spaces effectively. Moreover, the AVR technology deepened cultural immersion and supported modern teaching approaches, enhancing educators' ability to engage with diverse cultural classrooms. Despite the observed improvements in trainees’ passion and confidence, a need for reconsidering technological aspects in contemporary teacher education was identified. Ultimately, the findings offered pedagogical implications for EFL teacher education and teacher trainers to equip teachers with the necessary skills to address cultural and multicultural challenges in EFL teaching and stimulate their professional growth.

This study aimed to explore Iranian EFL teachers' perceptions of Critical Pedagogy (CP) and their classroom practices. For this purpose, a total of 22 EFL teachers were selected through convenience sampling and participated in an online semi-structured written interview. A sub-group of them also took part in a phone interview. Textual data were analyzed using grounded theory coding types, including open, axial, and selective coding, with MAXQDA software (Version 2020). The findings revealed two broad themes: raising students' critical consciousness and learner-centered pedagogy for CP definition, and communicative tasks and learner-centered activities for CP classroom practices. Additionally, the dominant barriers to the implementation of CP in the Iranian EFL context were identified as the top-down educational system, teachers' variables, and practical barriers.

Reviewing related literature shows deviation from Searle’s felicity conditions has not been given attention. The present paper aims to investigate pragmatic deviation from Searle’s (1969) felicity conditions of illocutionary speech acts in the previous president of the US, Donald Trump’s political language. A qualitative method is used to gather and examine the data. The instrument consists of three oral documents which are chosen purposefully: (1) Trump’s discourse to a group of his supporters in Illinois state, (2) Trump’s meeting with Broadcasters MacCallum and Baier on Fox News Channel, and (3) Trump’s interview with Broadcaster Cooper on CNN Channel. The paper uses a discourse analysis method to study these documents. Findings reveal that Searle’s conditions (propositional content, preparatory, sincerity, essential) are deviated from in Trump’s political speeches: (1) Representative acts by making false claims without providing any evidence, (2) commissive acts by committing himself to do a future action, but Trump fails to fulfill it, (3) directive acts by ordering Joe Biden’s administration to prevent immigrants from entering the US, but Trump’s order cannot be done, (4) expressive acts by jokingly apologizing to his wife because he does not do anything wrong that pushes him to make an apology to her and thus has no real intention to do this act, and (5) declarative acts by declaring they are going to end Pelosi’s career politically, but she is not done.  It is also found that deviation from these conditions happens as a means of persuading, influencing, threatening, mocking, and attacking others.

In tandem with communicative approaches to language teaching, there is a growing understanding in SLA that assessment needs to be integrated into language learning. This contention has led to the development of the Learning-Oriented Assessment (LOA) approach for assessing language skills and aspects in language classrooms. To our knowledge, interventionist studies to improve EFL teachers' LOA-based assessment practices are in their infancy. The present study examined Iranian EFL teachers' perspectives on LOA in language teaching. To this end, the researchers selected 44 EFL teachers in four language institutes in Urmia (Iran) and provided them with tailor-made LOA-based training in 12 sessions for one month. The teachers were informed that LOA procedures are to be adopted and used in their classes. During the following semester, the researchers observed the participants' classes periodically and provided them with comments on their LOA procedures. Following the course, interviews were held with the participants to probe into their perspectives on LOA. Drawing upon thematic analysis, the researchers analyzed the recordings to develop a model for the participants' perspectives on LOA procedures. Development of teacher noticing skills in LOA procedure, its beneficial impact on language learning vis-à-vis traditional testing procedures, implementation challenges, widespread use at all proficiency levels, and the need to develop user-friendly LOA-compatible software and applications constituted the major themes based on the interview data. The findings demonstrate that the participants harbored favorable views on LOA and regarded it to be more efficacious than traditional testing procedures.

In recent years, technology-mediated collaborative writing has received great attention in the research literature. The purpose of the present study is to compare the effects of online collaborative writing using Google Docs and individual writing in a face-to-face conventional classroom on the writing performance of Iranian EFL learners. To this aim, a sample of 32 homogeneous intermediate learners was selected as the study's participants. They were then randomly divided into an experimental group (N = 16) and a control group (N = 16). Then, the experimental group participants performed online collaborative writing using Google Docs while the control group fulfilled individual papers in the face-to-face classroom. Two writing tasks by the students were employed to gather the data. Later, data were analyzed through paired-sample t-tests to investigate differences in writing in each group. Finally, ANCOVA was used to investigate the difference in writing performance between the two groups. This study added further insights concerning the contribution of Google Docs in technological research in technology-mediated collaborative writing and provided some pertinent pedagogical implications

The present research studied the disciplinary use of cohesive devices across academic writing, comparing Native English Writers (NEW) with Arab Writers of English (AEW). It centers around the research articles in the fields of Medicine and Education. The researchers adopted corpus-based analysis, presented by Halliday and Hasan's framework, 1976, in the exploration of cohesive device types—grammar and lexical ones—while considering frequencies along with discourse contexts. The results indicated significant disciplinary differences in cohesive strategies use among the NEW, i.e. additive conjunctions, which appear in the educational writing and facilitate argument development and logical flow between ideas (e.g., and, further); the collocations in medical writing reflect the exactitude of the subject and clarity to be expected in any sort of scientific discourse, no less with causal conjunctions. AEW also exhibited discipline-specific patterns, but their cohesive strategies are colored by the Arabic rhetorical traditions. AEW in education relied heavily on repetition to achieve thematic unity, which sometimes results in redundancy by the norms of English academic writing. AEW in medicine make more use of additive and causal conjunctions to achieve logical relations, although overuse sometimes led to long, unwieldy sentences. These findings have significant pedagogical implications for EAP instruction. They call for training in cohesive strategies specific to disciplines, especially for learners from an Arab background, as this helps learners adjust their writing practices in ways that will meet expectations in the English academic conventions while managing cultural influences.

This study investigates the impact of computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) on grammar learning among Iranian EFL learners, focusing on the moderating role of working memory (WM). A nonrandomized pretest-posttest control group design was employed, with 60 male learners aged 17 to 18 divided into experimental and control groups. The participants were assessed using the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) to determine language proficiency and a researcher-made test to measure knowledge of past perfect tense. The intervention involved C-DA sessions conducted via the Google Meet platform for the experimental group, while the control group received traditional teacher-fronted lessons. Results from independent-sample t-tests and one-way between-groups ANOVAs revealed a significant improvement in grammar learning among the experimental group compared to the control group. However, no discernable difference was found in the performance of high and low WM learners in response to C-DA. These findings highlight C-DA's potential as a practical instructional approach for grammar learning in EFL contexts. They underscore the need for further research to explore its utility across different learner profiles.

The present study investigates the emotional experiences of ten English as a foreign language (EFL) female students during an English vocabulary-building course, through the lens of Barrett’s Theory of Constructed Emotion (TCE). The data were collected using a background questionnaire, reflection paragraphs, and semi-structured interviews and were analyzed primarily by applying thematic analysis methods. The TCE was used to explain the wide range of emotions experienced and the reasons for fluctuations within a single EFL vocabulary course. The results revealed a diverse spectrum of emotions, including enjoyment, confidence, pride, anxiety, boredom, embarrassment, and blame, underscoring the TCE's premise that emotions are intricately constructed and influenced by personal learning experiences, the appraisal of learning events, contextual factors, and social interactions. Moreover, the study found that emotions are not only influenced by the situational context but also shape the situational context in turn. Thus, the findings highlighted the open and interactive nature of the systems students use to construct their emotions. Importantly, the study uncovered the strategies students employ to manage their emotions, highlighting the active role students play in shaping their emotional experiences. The findings provide valuable insights for EFL teachers, suggesting the need for a supportive and empathetic teaching environment that acknowledges the emotional dimensions of EFL vocabulary learning. By understanding and addressing these emotional aspects, teachers can better assist learners in managing their emotions, thereby optimizing vocabulary acquisition and enhancing overall learning outcomes. 

As the mainstream English course books on the market written by native speakers include concepts such as exchange students, host family, online dating, and the like not in line with Iranian/Persian culture and moral values, the present study worked on innovatively devising three contemporary storybooks. These storybooks were prepared based on shared moral themes extracted from the didactical Persian classic literature and further administered in practice. The current "classroom-ethnography" research explored the opportunities/challenges of practically implementing the locally devised materials for young learners in the real EFL context in Iran. These strengths/drawbacks were scrutinized through the "triangulation" technique in which the perceptions of the recipients of the storybooks, including the young learners and ten experienced teachers anticipating the process of study before the practical phase of the research were inspected. The researcher/teacher's observation of the study process and the class video recording were also investigated. Then, the common points extracted from the acquired data were classified and coded systematically. The research resulted in some opportunities, such as enhancing the young learners' English proficiency level and improving their critical thinking ability. However, the main challenges are the time restrictions and locating an appropriate English setting for the practical study of such local English materials. In alignment with the novelty of created storybooks and the entrenched moral themes illustrating Iranian moral values, the practical section discussing the strengths and drawbacks of implementing the devised materials in a real EFL context would differentiate the current research from the related literature in Iran.